According to foreign media, the Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek is conducting a major round of fundraising, aiming to raise about 50 billion yuan (approximately 7.4 billion US dollars).

According to insiders, after this round of financing, DeepSeek's valuation is expected to surge between 350 billion to 400 billion yuan (about 52 billion to 59 billion US dollars). As a leading company in China's AI industry, DeepSeek previously gained widespread attention globally with its V3 and R1 models, effectively changing the public's perception of China's capabilities in large model development.

DeepSeek

This round of financing shows a high level of participation from major companies and a strategic cooperation nature. It is reported that the founder Liang Wenfeng has committed to investing 20 billion yuan of his own funds, while tech giant Tencent and battery leader CATL are considering investments of 10 billion yuan and 5 billion yuan respectively, becoming the main external investors.

Additionally, the China National Artificial Intelligence Fund, NetEase, JD.com, Hong Kong IDG Capital, and other institutions are also in final negotiations or on the list of interested parties. The total number of investors is expected to be less than 10, and the terms will be finalized within the next two weeks.

This investor lineup highlights the trend of self-sufficiency across the entire value chain of China's AI industry, from model development to energy infrastructure. Recently, CATL has entered the AI data center field, aiming to provide power equipment and energy storage solutions to support the massive power consumption of computing power; Tencent aims to break through its relatively passive position in the market for its Huan Yuan large model by deepening its cooperation with DeepSeek, accelerating its efforts to catch up with competitors like Alibaba's Tongyi Qianwen.

This significant funding round not only sets a new record for the valuation of large model companies but also has the potential to reshape the strategic alliances between domestic internet giants and hard-tech enterprises in the AI sector.